Monday, January 26, 2009

It Started with Boots

Hi. I know, it's been too long for me too. Over President's weekend, Jed and I visited Pete and Jess in LA. Everything was so great. One day, Jess and I went to the Santa Monica Flea Market, which alone was enough to make me secretly wish that one day Jed will have a great job with the Lakers or the Dodgers or even the Sparks.

One booth was filled with so many amazing vintage boots. my eyes kept going back to a pair of booties that said DEX on the sole. of course, i was a little drunk so i couldn't be bothered to try the shoes on or to remember the brand. A few days later, Jess reminded me that the brand was Dexter. I had to find a pair, ASAP. so I turned to ebay, my trusty source for goods when i am too lazy to look for anywhere else.

I couldn't find the exact shoes I saw in LA, but I did find a close second (see above). I bid, and a day later, found out that I had won. I told rach and jess and they both responded in the same way dh did a few ebay buys ago: "maybe it's time i get on ebay."

ebay is so simple. it's time to overcome any anxiety and be empowered to use the tool that will help you get boots or 1980s sundresses or vintage sewing patterns or stained glass windows for your mom's birthday.

On ebay, you don't have to have a username or password to look. search the same way you do craigslist. type any terms you want. Try to be as specific as possible to reduce intense feelings of overwhelmingness. In the past few weeks, I bought 2 sewing patterns from the early 1970s, the boots and just now, while typing this post, Fromer's 2008 Paris Guide (for $2.00).

Check it out and be sure to share your finds. What's the best thing you've found on ebay? What are your go-to search words? There was a time when mine were "vintage linen" and "pyrex nesting bowls". Happy shopping.

6 comments:

  1. does this mean you're going to start selling on ebay too? I'm sorry we never listed your dress for you, but you can do it!! Mom's a pro, but if I can do it you can too.

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  2. shopping on ebay is my new hobby. thanks for the great tips, ab! now all i have to do is figure out a new budget for my new hobby...

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  3. I am selling my virginity on eBay. Starting bid anyone?

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  4. funnily enough, when i braved ebay yesterday, besides searching for frye boots (i think i am on the verge of a boot bender), i also searched for pyrex nesting bowls. my problem isn't in finding stuff i like, it's actually bidding on it. when you bid, do they email you when someone outbids you or do you have to keep checking back?

    oh and jed, i'll start the bidding at fiddy cent.

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  5. JML - i am not ready to sell on ebay.
    JMH - You will get an email if you are outbid. A good secret I learned is that you can watch an item. That means that you'll get emails close to the end of the auction and you place a bid late in the game, instead of essentially driving up your own bids through a bidding war that could last days.

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  6. Dexter. They are doing big things in 2009. Seriously.

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